WORLD IS WILD ABOUT HARRY! Potter 5 Huge No. 1 In U.S. And Foreign Markets; Magical For $330M Global In First 5 Days

SUNDAY AM: The latest Harry Potter — featuring the aged up and sexed up trio of teen actors the world has come to love — cast another spell on moviegoers.Warner Bros declared The Order Of the Phoenix the highest grossing of the franchise of all time, opening to a staggering $190.3 million in 44 international territories for a 5-day worldwide cume already of $330 million. HP5 also entranced North American moviegoers and made $77.4 million for the weekend and a gigantic $140 million for its 5-day opening from 4,285 runs, the studio said today. (That’s exactly what my box office gurus expected.) The studio said HP5 scored the largest Harry Potter opening of all with $44.2 mil, beating HP4‘s $40.1 mil. But no other Harry Potter film has debuted this way — on a Wednesday with a five-day release — so it’s difficult to say whether HP5 will out-earn the others. But it made $25.8 mil on Friday, $28.3 mil on Saturday and a projected $23+ mil on Sunday. That’s good enough, the studio says, to set the largest non-holiday 5-day Wednesday to Sunday record previously held by Shrek 2 ($128.9 mil). The pic also scored the largest Wednesday ever, and largest Wednesday 12:01 a.m. show ever. Overall, it scored the 5th largest opening day ever. Exit polls showed 65% of the audience was non-family in keeping with the aging up of the franchise and its PG-13 rating, with a slight female skew. Meanwhile, Warner Bros said today its 2007 movies broke $1 billion in global gross receipts.

The film was a gigantic No. 1 with an estimated $190.3 international cume from all its 44 markets. So much so that even rival studios said foreign box office was way up over last weekend “thanks to the worldwide phenomenon of Harry Potter. It’s dominating with 61% market share in the 11 EDI territories, including 75% share in germany and 69% share in the UK.” Warner’s said HP5 attracted 31 million admissions from over 12,000 prints. The Order Of The Phoenix ranked first everywhere overseas for the biggest foreign opening weekend ever for a Warner Bros film. Included in the cume is the pic’s IMAX estimated grosses which were also record breaking: HP5 ranked as the highest opening weekend ever for an IMAX title internationally with an estimated $2.1 mil from 35 prints. In key markets, the UK made $32.5M (biggest 4-day opening weekend of all time, 2nd biggest industry opening weekend behind HP4); Germany $18.7M (expected to be biggest opening weekend of 2007, neck and neck with Pirates 3), France $16.9M (on par with Pirates 3 for biggest opening weekend in 2007), Italy $11M (2nd biggest opening weekend for the HP franchise, behind HP4), Spain $10.6M (biggest opening weekend for the HP franchise).

In Asia and the Pacific, HP5 is expected to surpass all previous Harry Potter films: Australia $14.4M (biggest opening weekend for the HP franchise), Korea $12.1M (biggest opening weekend for the HP franchise). In Latin America, too, HP5 is expected to surpass all previous Potter films: Mexico $10M (2nd biggest industry opening weekend of all time, biggest opening weekend for the HP franchise), Brazil $7.1M (2nd biggest industry opening weekend of all time, biggest opening weekend for the HP franchise).

Playing in 4,050 theaters, the DreamWorks and Paramount co-production Transformers stayed a strong No. 2 domestically. The Michael Bay-directed, Steven Spielberg-supervised battle of the bots made $10.8 mil Friday, $14.5 mil Saturday and a projected $11+ mil Sunday for a weekend total of $36 mil. “That’s only a $49% drop from last weekend, which is very strong for a wide-release summer blockbuster,” the studio said. Its new cume is a staggering $222.9 mil. This is now Bay’s highest grossing pic ever, passing Armageddon ($201.5M) after less than two weeks in release.

In 3rd place, Disney / Pixar’s Ratatouille showed off strong legs against the HP5 onslaught. “No other animated film had a drop of under 40% against a Harry Potter opening until now,” Disney trumpeted. In its third week of release, Remy The Rat and friends dropped only $37.9% in 3,625 venues for another $18 mil weekend. After scoring $5.3 mil Friday, $7.1 mil Saturday and a projected $5.6 mil Sunday, the toon’s new cume is a whopping $143 mil.

No. 4 Live Free And Die Hard, the Bruce Willis fourquel from Fox playing in 3,201 dates, continues strong, notching another $11.2 mil weekend in its third week of release. It’s now crossed the magic $100 mil mark for a new cume of $103.2 mil. Warner’s comedy License To Wed in 2,715 runs placed 5th with a $7.4 mil weekend for a new cume of $30.4 mil. (Someone should study why even lame pics with marriage in the title survive at the box office.) The Jon Cusack starrer 1408 from The Weinstein Co and MGM did a $5 mil weekend from 2,206 theaters for a new cume of $62.2 mil.

The 7th place pic, Universal’s Evan Almighty, scored a $4.9 mil weekend from 2,702 venues but still can’t make it over the magic $100 mil mark. Its new North American cume of $87.8 mil is a disappointment for the most expensive comedy ever made (cost was $210 mil). Internationally, the pic has made $4.4 mil early on but doesn’t go out to 50 more territories until later in July, August and September. By contrast, Universal’s R-rated laugher Knocked Up, made for just $30 mil, is a juggernaut with its hot new cume of $138.1 mil after another $3.6 mil weekend from 1,715 theaters in eight weeks of release. Overseas, where American comedies usually don’t translate, sexed up Knocked Up is smashing that mold and sitting behind Harry Potter and Transformers in Australia already. It rolls out around the world later in July through October.

In 9th place, the hotly debated Michael Moore health care documentary is still in the headlines. But its box office is still behind the moviemaker’s Bowling For Columbine and of course Fahrenheit 9/11. The Weinstein Co pic took in another $2.5 mil this weekend from 756 theaters for a new cume of $15.7 mil. And, rounding out the Top 10, Warner’s Ocean’s Thirteen keeps making smaller and smaller waves: it had a $1.9 mil weekend from 1,244 playdates for a new cume of $112.4 mil. Finally, how nice to see that, once again, North American audiences rejected torture porn in horror films and repudiated After Dark’s Captivity which opened with wretched $1.4 mil this weekend from 1,050 theaters.

SATURDAY AM: The latest in the J.K. Rowling movie franchise, Harry Potter And The Order Of The Phoenix, was No. 1 again. Warner Bros said it conjured up $25.8 million at North American box offices Friday for a hot new cume of $88.4 million for its first three days of release (Wednesday, Thursday and Friday). My box office gurus are expecting an $81 million 3-day weekend and revised upwards their projected 5-day weekend total from $125+ million to $140+ million. That won’t break the record though: Star Wars Episode III made $172.8 mil during it first five days of release. But the kid did score the biggest Wednesday opening ever ($44.2 mil), no small feat.

No. 2 DreamWorks’ Transformers took in $11 mil Friday from 4,050 venues for Paramount — down only $51 mil after opening during Fourth Of July week — for a hot new cume of $197.9 mil. Experts are expecting a $34 mil weekend. Disney’s toon Ratatouille continues strong in third place, earning $5.4 mil Friday from 3,625 playdates at the start of its 3rd week in release. Its cume is now $130.3 mil and it should have a $16.7 mil weekend. Fox’s Live Free Or Die Hard, starring Bruce Willis, was fourth and made $3.2 mil Friday from 3,201 theaters its third weekend for a respectable cume of $95.2 mil. A $10.2 mil weekend is predicted. No. 5 Warner’s comedy starring Robin Williams License To Wed fell only 36% its second weekend in release for $2.3 mil Friday from 2,715 venues and a new cume of $25.4 mil. It should do $6.8 mil this weekend. The Weinstein Co / MGM’s horror film with John Cusack based on Stephen King, 1408, finished in sixth place Friday making $1.6 mil from 2,206 venues. Its new cume is $58.8 mil and it should have a $5 mil weekend.

In 7th place, Universal’s Evan Almighty, the most expensive comedy ever made, still hasn’t broken $100 mil even after four weeks out. Its new cume is $84.3 mil after taking in $1.4 mil Friday from 2,702 playdates. It should have a $4.5 mil weekend. On the other hand, Universal’s R-rated Judd Apatow comedy Knocked Up just keeps going and going. In 8th place even after 7 weeks in release, its new cume is $135.6 mil after raking in another $1.1 mil Friday from 1,715 theaters. Expect a $3.4 mil weekend. No. 9 went to The Weinstein Co’s controversial health care documentary from Michael Moore, Sicko, whose cume is now $13.9 mil after taking in $700K from 756 theaters. Starting its 4th week in release, it should have a $2.4 mil weekend. And, rounding out the Top 10, Warner’s Ocean’s Thirteen, six weeks out, made $585K from 1,244 venues for a new cume of $111.1 mil and what should be a $2 mil weekend.